


Sick

by foryouandbits



Series: Tumblr Ficlets [8]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-24 13:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8374468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foryouandbits/pseuds/foryouandbits
Summary: Just after Lardo, Ransom, and Holster's graduation, Bitty moves into Jack's apartment for the summer only to immediately become sick.





	

It took a really long time for summer to arrive that year, the weather fluctuating wildly between the low forties and the low seventies. It remained inconsistent throughout spring and by the time graduation rolled around, it was still cold enough to wear a winter coat. Well, it was still cold enough for Bitty to wear a winter coat, which he did to Lardo, Ransom, and Holster's graduation ceremony, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his face stuffed into the collar of his sweater. It was adorable.

It was adorable until Bitty came to Jack's apartment with all of his belongings for their first annual "Jack + Bitty Get to Spend More Than the Weekend Together" summer vacation (Bitty coined the term and Jack laughed when he said it), only to collapse onto the couch in a weak, shivering heap.

"Bits?" Jack called when he realized Bitty hadn't followed him into the bedroom. It wasn't that their summer vacation needed to start immediately, but Jack at least needed to know which bag should be unpacked first. Bitty didn't respond to Jack's call and he walked all the way into the living room and around the armchair before he saw Bitty curled up on the couch, still shivering, but now mostly asleep. "Bits, bud, if you're going to take a nap at least do it in the bed. The couch is not nearly as – Bits?"

Jack knelt down next to Bitty and gently placed his hand on Bitty's face, and that was the first time he realized it – Bitty was sick. "Bitty," Jack whispered, his fingers gently stroking over the warm skin along Bitty's jawline. Bitty blinked open his eyes, looking as lost and as frail as the overworn Senor Bunny he held in his arms. "How long have you been sick?"

"Not sick," muttered Bitty.

"Yeah? You're burning up."

"Am not," replied Bitty. His eyes had already closed again and within moments was asleep. Jack rearranged the throw pillows and tossed a blanket over him before he quietly walked around the couch and then bolted for the bedroom.

" _Maman_ ," he whispered into his phone from inside the closet in the bedroom. "Bitty's sick. What do I do?"

"Oh, honey," replied Alicia and Jack felt twelve years old after he'd come down with pneumonia after a horrible cold and had to stay home in bed for days with Alicia hovering closely by. _Oh no_ , he thought, _what if Bitty has pneumonia and he has to go to the hospital?_ "I'm sure he'll be fine. What's the matter with him?"

"He's got a fever. I don't know how bad it is, but he's burning up and he just fell asleep on the couch."

"Is he coughing? Does he have a sore throat or a runny nose?"

"I don't know."

"Does he have the body aches?"

"I don't know."

"Honey," said Alicia gently. "You're not giving me very much to go on. It's probably just a bad cold. It's been going around up here too with the weather being like it's been."

"But what do I do?" Jack pressed. "He's the one who takes care of me. I don't know what to do to take care of him." Alicia was silent for several moments, long enough for Jack to pull the phone away from his ear and make sure they were still connected. " _Maman?"_

"Honey, that is the most darling thing I think you've ever said to me," she replied. "I need you to calm yourself down first, okay? Take a deep breath with me." Jack listened as she breathed in and he matched her rhythm. They exhaled together, inhaled again, and exhaled a second time. "Better?"

"Yes," said Jack. He opened the closet door, walked through the bedroom, and peered back toward the living room from the hallway. Bitty was more than likely still asleep, but it was hard to tell with the couch facing the opposite direction.

"Let him rest," said Alicia. "Did he just move in today?"

"Yes, he just brought the rest of his stuff over."

"I'm sure he's exhausted so he might sleep for a few hours. If he's got a fever he's probably also got the chills, but don't let him bundle up too much. It's not good to keep all that warmth in if you're running so hot. When he wakes up take his temperature and make sure he gets plenty of fluids. Once you know what the rest of his symptoms are then you can see if it's anything more than just a cold – but, honey, it is probably just a cold."

"When do I start getting worried?" Jack asked. "Well, reasonably worried?"

"If his fever is really high, if he starts coughing up something, or if he starts throwing up so much he can't hold liquids down, then you need to go to a doctor right away. His fever will be worse when the sun goes down so check it tonight and check it again in the morning – if it's still high in the morning maybe have him go to the doctor."

"Okay," he said and continued to stare at the back of the couch as if he could see through it to his sleeping boyfriend. "Thank you, _Maman_."

"You're welcome, honey. If you have more questions when he wakes up, give me a call."

" _Je t'aime._ "

" _Je t'aime aussi, mon petit chou_."

Jack quietly walked back to the living room. Bitty was still asleep, his expression furrowed and troubled. Jack watched him sleep for several minutes before he moved to the dining room table and opened his computer.

\---

It was dark when Bitty finally awoke. Jack looked up from his computer immediately, primed for any sort of movement from the couch. Bitty had turned over a few times since lying down four hours before, and each time Jack stopped typing and looked up, silent and motionless for minutes on end, before he was satisfied that Bitty was still asleep.

This time Bitty began to sit up and looked around, dazed. Jack jumped out of his seat and sat on the edge of the couch next to Bitty within seconds. Bitty rubbed at his eyes but even in the low light of the apartment (Jack had been afraid to switch on anything in the living room and thus the only light came from the dim track lighting in the kitchen and the bright screen on his laptop), Jack could see his eyes were red and still exhausted. Jack gently placed his hand atop Bitty's – even his hands were warm.

"Hey," Jack said, sure to keep his voice quiet. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," said Bitty but then he immediately proceeded to cough a deep, rib-shaking cough and he winced as it rattled out of his throat.

"You don't sound fine, Bits," Jack replied. He placed his hand on the side of Bitty's face, and Bitty shied away from the coolness of his fingers. "What hurts? Does your throat hurt?" Bitty nodded. "What else? Are you cold?" Bitty nodded again. "Do your muscles hurt at all?" Bitty nodded a third time. "Okay. Let me get the thermometer."

Jack power walked to the bathroom, unwilling to let himself run, and grabbed the thermometer off the bathroom counter. He detoured to the kitchen on the way back and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before he sat down on the couch with Bitty again. He handed the bottle to Bitty and then shoved the thermometer in Bitty's ear.

"Really, Jack?" Bitty asked. "Am I a toddler? Why do you have an ear thermometer?"

"It's more accurate," said Jack, frowning. The thermometer beeped and he looked at it, but kept his alarm to simple internal screaming when it read _103.2_. He set the thermometer down on the coffee table.

"Do I have a fever?" Bitty asked.

"Yes," said Jack but did not elaborate. "Drink your water. It's not too late to order soup from that deli you like, if you're hungry." Bitty took a sip of water but turned up his nose at the thought of food.

"I'm not hungry," he said.

"You're sick, Bits. You have to eat something." Bitty took another small sip of water before he pulled the blanket further up his body and sunk into a ball on the couch.

"It's freezing in here," he said and then proceeded to cough again, the sound loud and jarring. "Did you turn the air on?"

"No, Bits. I had the heat on earlier because I knew you were coming, but I turned it off when it got stifling hot in here." Bitty grumbled, coughed, and then pulled the edges of the blanket over his shoulders. "Bits, um, you shouldn't – you have a fever –" Bitty sent Jack a glare and Jack shut his mouth. "I'm just going to order that soup."

He returned to his computer and thumbed the mousepad to wake it up. He glanced up at Bitty, who rested his head against the back of the couch and cuddled Senor Bunny close to him, and then began closing several WebMD tabs. After the seventh click, Bitty furrowed his eyebrows.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," said Jack quickly.

"Why are you clicking the mouse so much?"

"No reason," said Jack again. There had to be a less conspicuous way to do this, but the buttons on his laptop were ridiculously loud. He closed _Lung Disease_ , _COPD, Emphysema, Typhoid Fever, Rheumatic Fever, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever_ , and was only left with his narrowed down list of what could potentially be wrong with Bitty – Pneumonia, Bronchitis, Influenza, Mononucleosis, and SARS.

"Did you get a flu shot this year?" Jack asked.

"No, flu shots give you the flu," replied Bitty and Jack stared at him. "What? They do!"

"No they don't, Bitty," said Jack. "Was anyone else sick in the Haus?" Bitty shook his head. "Do you know anyone else who was sick?"

"One of Ransom's sisters was sick, I think," said Bitty, and he looked exhausted from having to think it over. He closed his eyes again.

"Did you – did you happen to accidentally drink from the same cup as her? Or, I don't know, kiss her –" Bitty's eyes flew open.

" _Jack Zimmermann_ , did you just ask me if I made out with someone else? With a girl?"

"I don't know!" Jack said, putting his hands up in the air. "I'm just asking!"

"I had mono when I was in junior high after my friend – who I did not kiss – gave it to me. I don't have mono," said Bitty. He sat up again. "Is that why you're clicking so much over there? Are you WebMD'ing my symptoms?"

"Maybe," said Jack.

"Maybe? Maybes don't fly in June, Jack."

"What?" asked Jack.

"Never mind. What do you have it narrowed down to?"

"Um…" Jack felt his cheeks begin to flush as he looked over his open tabs. "Well you already had mono, so that's out – so you might have bronchitis, with that cough, but it might also just be the flu, or a bad cold, or… I mean probably not, but you might have pneumonia, but it says that's only with a low grade fever and yours is pretty high. You might have this thing that I've never heard of before. S-A-R-S."

"S-A-R-S?" Bitty asked, confused. "Wait, SARS? You think I have SARS?" Jack nodded and Bitty began laughing, which quickly spiraled into heavy, loud coughing. Jack headed back over and carefully patted Bitty's back until he calmed down, but he was still shaking with giggles. "Honey, you know I love you, but you are so far removed from the world that I wonder how you even get through life."

"Because I think you have SARS?" Jack asked and Bitty giggled again and coughed a few more times into his fist.

"Honey, this isn't 2005. No one has SARS anymore."

"Oh," said Jack. "But you had the symptoms –"

"This is why you don't WebMD anything," said Bitty and he rested his very warm head against Jack's shoulder. "You are still wonderful, honey."

"Thank you?" Jack asked. "Well, if it's not SARS –" Bitty chuckled and coughed. "– it might still be serious. Come on, let's get you to bed. Take your water." Jack carefully helped Bitty to his feet; Bitty still clutched onto his blanket as if he'd freeze to death without it, but carried his water in one hand and Senor Bunny in the other. He leaned against Jack for support as they walked down the hallway to the bedroom.

Jack pulled back the covers on Bitty's side of the bed. Bitty sat down on the edge but Jack took away Senor Bunny and his water bottle and placed them on the nightstand before he began to unbutton Bitty's coat.

"No, I'm cold!" Bitty protested.

"Bitty, you can't go to bed with your coat and shoes on. Come on, let's get you undressed and you can go back to sleep until the food arrives." Bitty pouted and Jack stared at Bitty's lower lip with conflicted feelings. He quickly shook his head and returned his attention to the toggles on Bitty's coat. Once the coat and sweater were gone, Bitty was shivering all over. Jack carefully removed his shoes and jeans and then tucked him underneath the covers, which Bitty pulled all the way up to his chin. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Jack gently kissed Bitty's forehead before he left the room.

Once in the hallway, he texted his mother.

_103.2. How bad is that?_

_Not good, sweetheart, but check it again in the morning. Give him some Nyquil before bed._

Jack closed his eyes, feeling the familiar race of his heart as his anxiety began to grow. His mother texted again.

_Breathe, sweetheart. He is fine._

He did.

\---

"Bitty?" Jack carefully asked forty-five minutes later. Bitty reluctantly opened just one eye. "I have some soup here for you. It's that butternut squash kind you like." Bitty closed his eye. "Come on, Bitty, sit up. You have to eat something before you go to sleep for the night." Bitty pulled the comforter over his head with a petulant _hmpf_. "Bitty…"

"Fine," said Bitty. His voice was getting croaky. Bitty carefully sat up, only coughing twice as he did. By the way he clutched at his forehead as he leaned against the headboard, Jack figured he had a pounding headache as well, which could either be a result of the cold or the result of not eating for the majority of the day.

"Um…" Jack said, looking down at the Styrofoam bowl in his hand, "do you want me to feed it to you?" Despite the grouchy frown that had been etched into Bitty's face, a smug smirk tugged at his lips.

"No," Bitty said and reached for the bowl. "I think I can manage."

"I would, you know," said Jack. "If you couldn't."

"Thank you, honey," said Bitty. He carefully began to eat, closing his eyes and savoring the first taste. Jack smiled but pushed down the relief that he felt at the sight of it; if Bitty could still enjoy soup, he wasn't that sick. Jack didn't stray far as he dug around the cabinets in the bathroom for Nyquil, finally procuring a generic _night time cold remedy_ packet from inside the extensive first aid kit his mother had purchased when he moved into the apartment. He'd have to go shopping in the morning.

Bitty finished most of the soup before his coughing took over; Jack took the bowl and handed Bitty two green gel caps with his mostly undrunk bottle of water. "Drink the rest of this," said Jack. "And then you can go to sleep again." When Jack returned from the kitchen, most of the water was gone and Bitty was lying underneath the covers again.

"Are you going to come to bed with me?" Bitty asked. Jack looked at the time; not quite nine o'clock.

"Yeah, okay," he said. He removed his shirt and climbed into the bed with Bitty. Bitty placed Senor Bunny back on the nightstand for safekeeping before cuddling up to Jack. His entire body was warm. "I don't like the way your cough sounds. I think you should go to the doctor tomorrow."

"Okay," Bitty muttered into Jack's chest. "Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, Bits," said Jack. He gently kissed Bitty's forehead before Bitty closed his eyes. Jack lay in the bed for a while, gently caressing the skin on Bitty's back and staring at the ceiling. It was going to be okay – Bitty was going to be okay – and that was the only thought that allowed Jack to finally drift to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you're wondering, Bitty has bronchitis. He's given an inhaler and antibiotics from the doctor and gets better in a few days, but his cough lingers for a few weeks. Jack never gets sick. 
> 
> Inspired by an ask [over on my tumblr](http://foryouandbits.tumblr.com/post/152275915710/id-love-a-ficlet-about-bitty-getting-sick-and).


End file.
